Start-ups receive University assistance

Dreaming of dropping out of school, forming an Internet start-up and becoming a billionaire over night? Penn is hoping its new e-business "accelerator" will let students skip the first step. The University is in the process of converting a former plumbing warehouse at 3025 Walnut Street into a high-tech start-up accelerator -- PenNetWorks -- to support developing start-up computer and biotechnology companies in the area. In August, officials announced that the facility will be managed by Redleaf Group, Inc., a firm with headquarters in Pittsburgh and Silicon Valley that assists people starting technology companies with financial and administrative support. "Redleaf believes that some of the best entrepreneurs are closer to the dorm room than the board room in their business expertise," Redleaf co-Chief Executive Officer C. Lloyd Mahaffey said in a written statement. The facility will temporarily be housed at 3535 Market Street, on the Avenue of Technology. The interim location is expected to be operational by October, according to a statement from Redleaf. "[PenNetWorks] will offer good, usable space and strong technical support for individuals who are attempting to commercialize their ideas," Executive Vice President John Fry said in June. "We're trying to provide real opportunities for space and support and keep our entrepreneurs in the area," Fry added. University officials and Trustees hope the facility will encourage students and faculty with business ideas to base their companies in the Philadelphia area. PenNetWorks will focus on "early stage" support where entrepreneurs "come and get support, nurture ideas, then graduate to larger space," like the University City Science Center's Port of Technology facility, Fry said. Costs for the project were still being determined in June, and construction on the facility will likely take between nine months and a year, depending on the condition of the building, Fry said. Fry said that while the PenNetWorks facilities will be available to those associated with any of the University's schools, researchers at the schools will not be limited to using it. "This isn't something that people have to use on a mandatory basis," Fry said. "If schools want to work with another incubator, that's fine, too." The accelerator is meant for professors, students and also community residents

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